Operations

Ford Refreshes 2017 Fusion's Cup Holders

The 2017 Ford Fusion's cup holders have been moves forward, rotated, and redesigned based on customer feedback, Ford has announced.

Ford's research, which included a Nielsen survey, revealed that customers use cup holders for bottles and cups of various sizes, as well as mobile devices and loose change. The majority (79%) of respondents use cup holders for bottles, while 52% use them to carry cups of coffee or tea. North American customers use large soft-drink cups more than other parts of the world, and they’re much likelier to drink on the go. In Asia, people tend to bring wide tea bottles into the vehicle, according to Ford.

Ford decided to move the cup holders forward so they are "an easy reach for at least 95% of the population."

Ford found most cups fall between three basic scenarios, including your average half-liter recyclable water bottle, the 20-ounce plastic bottle typically used for juices and sports drinks, and the 30-ounce soft-drink cup found at many fast-food restaurants. If a cupholder can help hold all three, it can likely hold most any cup.

Ford used its tactical robot arm RUTH to test the cup holders and their spring-loaded resistance grips to measure how much effort it takes to insert a bottle and how much tension the grips exert as a cup is being pushed down.

The 2017 Fusion has up to six cup holders in the console, front door pockets and rear center armrest.

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